


I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around

by carrieevew



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9040634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrieevew/pseuds/carrieevew
Summary: Clarke has a plan on how to make Bellamy's Christmas suck a little less. so what it's it's a little complicated and involves a lot of scheming.vaguely based on a prompt: You didn’t have anywhere to go for the holidays, so I invited you to come home with me.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i'm a little bit drunk and a lot of high on Christmas cheer so i just sat down and wrote it.
> 
> title from Hugh Grant's opening monologue from _Love Actually_.
> 
> 07.01.17 EDIT: now with some editing that was desperately needed but i skipped the first time around.
> 
> hope you enjoy it!

“You know, there _are_ less convoluted ways of telling someone you’re in love with them.” Wells’ voice sounds utterly amused as it comes out of Clarke’s computer. She’s rummaging through her still-packed boxes in search of a cookbook that her grandmother’s given her, so she can’t _see_ his face but she’s sure his smirking.

“That’s not why I’m doing this!” she huffs, shoving another box away from her. The book’s probably run away from her, hoping to find someone who’s not gonna abandon it for a decade. But then, who needs cooking when there’s _take-out_! “Bellamy’s my friends and I don’t want him to spend Christmas completely alone.”

“I know,” Wells says, softer. “But you have to admit, this is a little over the top.”

Clarke’s given up on the book now so she just plops down on the couch in front of her laptop and Wells smiles at her.

“I’m just—” she waves her hand and then covers her eyes with it. “He’d been really down lately and I want to do something nice for him.”

“Because you love him.” Wells says matter-of-factly and Clarke uncovers her eyes and just stares at him. She could deny, she’s got practice with that, but honestly, what’s the point. Wells has been her friend for all of the 28 years of her life, he _knows_.

“Because he deserves it,” Clarke tells him and takes a breath. “And yeah, I do.” She makes a face. “Happy now?”

“I’m always happy when I have the chance to laugh at you,” Wells grins. There’s a muffled voice coming from the background on his side of the call and Wells turns towards it. “Oh, gotta go now, the Wife’s awake,” he says with a huge grin and Clarke can’t help but reciprocate.

He and Sasha went on an around-the-world honeymoon trip and every time he talks to him, he seems happier that the last time. Usually, the cynical part of Clarke would roll her eyes on the sappiness but it’s _Wells_ and she’s just happy for him.

They look at each other for a moment before Wells says “I might just be lovesick and sentimental but seriously, just tell him.” Clarke huffs at him but before she can say anything, Wells adds “I know that we’re all joking about the two of you sometimes but I’m sure he feels the same way. And if he doesn’t, at least you’ll know, and you’ll be able to move on.”

Clarke just stares at him for a moment in silence. Well, he’s not wrong. Their friendship has been born in pain but over the years, Bellamy’s become one of the most important people in her life and falling in love with him was so—natural. It took her a while to figure it out but once she did, that was it. It scares her, just a little bit considering all the horribly failed relationships she’s had but it’s also getting a little ridiculous, the way she feels a slight pang of jealousy whenever she sees some woman hitting on Bellamy or how she tenses when he touches her, wondering if maybe he means something more by that.

“You’re right,” she tells Wells, releasing a long breath of air. “I know you are. But it’s just—I don’t know how to just say it.”

“So you’re going with the elaborate plan that involves lots of secret planning and over half a dozen of people pulling the wool over their friend’s eyes.”

“Basically, yeah,” Clarke confirms and Wells laughs.

“Good luck with that,” he says dryly and Clarke rolls her eyes before ending the call.

 

***

 

Things between Bellamy and his sister have been going badly for quite a while but it wasn’t until Lincoln, Octavia’s fiancé and Bellamy’s partner got hurt on the job that thing actually fell apart. Octavia blamed her brother because he’d trusted the wrong informant which led Bellamy and Lincoln into a shoot-out with a bunch of gang members. Bellamy made it out with some bruised ribs from where the bullets hit his vest but Lincoln nearly bled out form a leg wound. He decided to leave the Police after that and while he doesn’t have any hard feelings, Octavia practically ceased all contact with her brother.

She hasn’t spoken to Bellamy in months and while he basically ignored Thanksgiving, volunteering to spend it on call, Christmas is the one that hurts.

Clarke knows how much the holiday means to Bellamy and how much he loves spending it with his sister. Which is why she got a little pissed on his behalf when Octavia offhandedly announced that this she and Lincoln are staying with his family.

He makes a brave face whenever they talk about Christmas but Clarke can see that it’s taken quite a toll, especially since he’s already been blaming himself for what happened.

And that's how Clarke came up with her ridiculous plan in the first place. At first, she just wanted to prepare a nice but small Christmas dinner for him but she quickly realised she’d need help with that and a lot of it. She adjusted then and decided to surprise him with their little family and a slightly bigger affair.

Talking their friends into it takes all of five minutes and soon, Miller and Bryan are looking for a nice goose to roast, Harper’s calling her mother for tips on how to make the best mashed potatoes and gravy, and Raven is discreetly assessing Bellamy’s living room and kitchen so she can figure out the best way to quickly set up the decorations that Monty and Jasper have been tasked with procuring. Clarke is supposed to bake a fruitcake because for reasons that no one understands, that’s Bellamy’s favourite Christmas cake, hence the now-abandoned search for the cookbook.

It’s all going pretty smoothly and whileeveryone else is keeping their mouths shut like she asked them to, it turns out, it's really difficult for Clarke to stay quiet herself. She finds herself nearly spilling it pretty much every time she talks to him because ever since he’d found out about Octavia’s plans—via a facebook message no less—he’s been pretty down and Clarke desperately wants to make him feel better.

Wells is definitely right, it _is_ a complicated plan and it takes a lot of glancing in Bellamy’s general direction to make sure he’s not listening in, which in turn makes him look at them with narrowed eyes and a look that most likely means that he believes his friends are losing it a little but it’ll be worth it.

 

***

 

Luckily, Christmas Eve is on Saturday which means that everyone has the day off and they can all focus on their preparations. It’s a little more difficult to lure Bellamy out of his apartment but at the end, she just calls him in the morning, saying that she can’t open the door to her storage unit in the basement and she needs help getting her suitcase out of there. And it’s not even a lie.

“Why do you still keep that thing in there if you can’t ever open it?” Bellamy asks when he sees her. He takes off his coat and outstretches his hand for the basement keys.

“Because I only need that suitcase once a year when I go visit my mother for Christmas and it takes a lot of space,” Clarke explains with a grin and follows Bellamy down the stairs to her unit because it’s the same conversation they have every year.

“Just call your super, it’s his job to fix that,” he says as they reach her door. He puts the key in the lock and tries to turn it as he plants his feet harder on the ground, putting some effort into moving it up as much as he can. “It’s probably just ill-fitted.”

“Yeah, but the super’s an asshole and I don’t want to talk to him unless I absolutely have to. He’s gonna find a way to make it somehow my fault, it just not worth it,” she huffs a little which is clearly a mistake because it causes her to inhale some of the dust. She sneezed unexpectedly and Bellamy shoots her a concerned look.

“Right. Why do that if you can just make me wrestle it every time,” he says with a raised eyebrow but there’s no heat in his voice and Clarke nods with a smug smile.

Bellamy finally manages to open the door and push it in as far as it’ll go. Clarke nearly runs inside and grabs the suitcase. “You sure that’s it?” he asks when she’s out. “Because once that door’s closed I’m not touching it again till next year.”

“I’m good,” she confirm, like she does every time and neither of them mention that they're gonna do that dance again when she comes home from her mother's.” Come on, I’ll make you a cup of coffee and we’ll watch _Die Hard_ while I pack. I’ll even drive you back home later,” she offersa bit carefully, not wanting to show any accidental enthusiasm but she needn’t worry because Bellamy’s only half-listening as he locks the door.

 

***

 

Clarke’s been getting regular updates on the progress of their preparations, mostly from Raven. She keeps sending her pictures of Jasper and Monty hanging the lights or Harper setting up the table. There’s also a selfie of Raven guarding the fruitcake and a couple of pies that Clarke dared to bake that makes her snort, which she has to hide in her own coffee.

They manage to watch not only _Die Hard_ but also _Home Alone_ while Bellamy keeps teasing Clarke about all the things she was packing because “seriously, Princess, you’re going to Washington, not Antarctica, they have shops there.”

Shortly before 5 pm Clarke receives one final text telling her that everything is ready, so she drives them to Bellamy’s place. He shoots her a curious look when he sees her unbuckling and following him inside but says nothing. Clarke can see in his eyes that he's glad not to be left alone but she knows he won't actually ask her to stay, not when he thinks she's got plans with her mother.

Clarke all but prances behind Bellamy as they climb the stair and cross the hallway towards his apartment. She stays a few steps behind him as he opens the door and goes inside. Their friends are all standing inside, surrounded by decorations and the mixing smells of a Christmas dinner and Bellamy does—nothing. He just stands there for the longest time and Clarke feels her enthusiasm being replaced with dread. Has she taken it too far?

She takes take few steps that separate her from Bellamy and stands right by his side.

“Merry Christmas,” she says carefully and his head snaps towards her so sharply she’s almost surprised he hasn’t gotten whiplash. She smiles weakly and Bellamy finally moves further inside, asking Miller what’s going on and Clarke breathes deeply before following.

 

***

 

The dinner goes perfectly. Yes, her fruitcake is a little dry, it turns out that Harper made enough potatoes to feed a small army and a couple of plates get smashed but Bellamy has been smiling almost the entire time.

The rest of their friends leave after a few hours, saying they still need to get to their awaiting families and leaving a complete mess in the kitchen that takes the two of them another hour to clean up but soon they're sitting on Bellamy's couch, drinking what’s left of the eggnog.

“Miller told me that it was all your idea,” Bellamy says, stirring Clarke awake from her near comatose state. She looks sideways at him and he goes on “and all I got for you is a new easel.” Clarke felt warmth spreading inside her that has nothing to do with the insane amount of food she’s just shovelled in. Apparently, all she had to do was mention it _once_ that her easel is wobbling for Bellamy to remember.

“Well, hold your horses on that gratitude because now comes the other part of Christmas,” Clarke says, feigning nonchalance. She looks at him and bites her lip, a nervous habit. Bellamy furrows his eyebrow, undoubtedly trying to figure out what she still has in mind while Clarke gathers her courage.

“I want to come to my mother’s with me,” she finally says quickly, before she can change her mind and Bellamy freezes.

“What?” he finally asks, his voice a little high.

“I mean, you obviously don’t have to, it’s still my _mother_ but I thought, you have the week off anyway and everyone else is leaving, as you just saw, so you’d be here alone. So maybe come to Washington with me? There’s a red eye flight at 2 am, we can go and see all the historical monuments and museums, and then come back for New Year’s Eve or stay till Monday—” Clarke rambles on looking at her knees now so she doesn’t even notice when Bellamy moves towards her until he cups her face with his hands and her voice hitches. They look at each other for a split of a second before Bellamy surges on and kisses her.

Clarke stops breathing then but she starts moving against him, putting her arms around his shoulders and pulling herself closer to him, deepening the kiss.

They part finally, both panting slightly but not moving away from each other for more than a few inches. Bellamy gently runs his hand over the side of her face and Clarke tangles her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. He’s got a wide grin spread across his face and she can feel herself smiling even harder.

He moves in for another kiss, quicker now, and says “I’d love to go to Washington with you.”

Clarke plants a kiss on his cheek. “And visit my mother,” she adds with a smirk.

“Yeah, that too,” Bellamy groans and Clarke laughs, happy.

 

***

 

It was almost morning by the time they got to Abby’s house so it’s no wonder that when Clarke wakes up it’s already light outside and there are noises coming from the general direction of the kitchen.

She feels Bellamy’s arms tighten around her and Clarke smiles to herself as she turns to face him. They spent over an hour in the plane with nothing else to do but talk and, with the help of sleep deprivation, they managed to forget their reservations. Clarke actually told him how she felt and for a longest heartbeat of her life they were both quiet. But then Bellamy took he hand and brought it to his mouth to plant a kiss to her knuckles. He tangled his fingers with hers and told her that he loves her, too.

And now, he’s lying on his side in her childhood bed, holding her close to his body and just watches her.

“Where do you think I’d be sleeping if your mother didn’t see you practically falling asleep in my arms at the airport?” he teases, his voice low and hoarse with sleep and Clarke feels a blush creeping up her cheeks. She didn’t even think about it when they arrived and when she just pulled Bellamy towards her old bedroom, her mother didn’t even bat an eyelash.

Clarke dipped her head slightly to look at Bellamy and she sent him a lopsided smile. “We have a very nice guest room, you know,” she said. “Would you like me to show it to you?”

“Oh, no.” Bellamy shook his head lightly and kissed forehead and then her nose, and moved further down to her lips. “I’m right where I want to be.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, i hope you liked it. in which case, please let me know, it's the most wonderful present.
> 
> i'm also on tumblr ([carrieeve](http://carrieeve.tumblr.com)), come say hi! :)
> 
> and also Merry Christmas!


End file.
